I Was Born for This || reviewed in rhapsody

according to my last post this is my 18th favourite book of all time, which I stand by.

I Was Born For This is about an 18 year old girl Angel who has had a massive obsession with the boy band The Ark since she was 14 and she is finally seeing them live for the first time with her internet friend Juliet, Angel narrates half of the book. Jimmy is the second main character, he is an 18/19 year old boy who loves music, his friends and general fun, he hates the anxiety he gets from performing with his two closest friends, Rowan and Lister, as his band The Ark is growing rapidly, heading for world wide fame. It’s about fandom vs band, reality vs fantasy, fame vs living a “normal” life. Angel and Jimmy get unexpectedly thrust together after a stressful turn of events and they have to come to terms with what they’re going to do for the rest of their lives. or at least the next year or so.

The first thing that stood out to me, along with all Alice Oseman books, was the characters. As it is about a hijab wearing muslim girl and a transgender male, of which Alice Oseman is neither, she took the time and effort to do an intense amount of research. Although the story isn’t about them being muslim or transgender, the small details that she probably wouldn’t have known otherwise without the research she did develops the characters infinitely. Angel is hilarious and a perfect example of a teenage girl obsessing over a boyband. She’s charming and nervous and spontaneous and so brilliantly crafted. Jimmy lives with anxiety and you can see how it plagues him, how he works with it and his friendships with Rowan and Lister are adorable and sweet. Rowan is the dad of the three, he’s the more serious one, which also makes him very protective, especially of Jimmy. Lister is the unsung hero of the book, he is troubled and the outsider of the three, he deals with biphobia and drinking issues throughout the book, he’s also considered the hottest of the three which often gives people the impression that he sleeps with a lot of people. He’s misunderstood and quite isolated, however he’s honest and down to earth, he’s not judgemental and has the clearest voice, in my opinion, in the whole book.

The story is fast past but slow at the same time. Not much happens, but so much happens at the same time. The book runs across a few days, each day a new part. Everything that happens, every scene, every word, every character interaction, everything, is thought out and carefully put into place to make the book unravel and flow as it is intended. It’s intense and cleverly put together to bring the characters together in certain ways. I’m constantly astounded in Alice Oseman’s ability to craft a story, this one is better put together then Radio Silence, if I’m being 100% honest. Although the ending did seem rushed and a little all over the place in IWBFT I still loved every bit of it.

Overall I would give this 4.5 grandfather heirlooms (iwbft reference ahhahahah) and highly highly recommend it, especially if you’ve ever, or still am, a mega fan of a band or celebrity

2 comments

Rhapsody
/ˈrapsədi/
noun
1.
an effusively enthusiastic or ecstatic expression of feeling.
"rhapsodies of praise"
2.
(in ancient Greece) an epic poem, or part of a poem, of a suitable length for recitation at one time.